Fluid sampling device



J. o. BOWER EIAL 7 2,355,620

FLUID SAMPLING DEVICE Filed Feb. 5, 1941 INVENTORS.

John OBow er John D Tarbox ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 15, 1944 John '0.Bowerand John P.'Tarbox, Philadelphia, Pa., as'signors to'Foundation forClinical and Surgical Research, Elriladelphia, Pa.,-a'corporat-ion ofPennsylvania Application February 5, 1941, Serial No. 378,708

(01. 73-421) This invention consistsof an apparatus for use i '4 Claims.

in connection with systems of stomach and .intestinal pumping, and amethod of sampling the stomach contents or the like.

.It is the common practice'in the treating of stomach and intestinaldisorders to .have the patient swallow a vacuum pump .tube, andtherethrough to obtain one or more samples of the contents of theorganor passage.

Where a plurality of samples are taken, the individual samples areobtained usually atstated intervals and successively examined. There has"been experienced some difiiculty in preserving the serial order of thesamples so obtained, and in efiecting thorough-going comparativeexaminations of the successive specimens.

'In the treatment of intestinal obstructions in particular, thespecimens are .obtainedjngreater number and over longer periods. It'has.been Tound'there is a great deal to belearned through orderly, timely,and appropriate comparison of thesamples, and that there is possible-adegree :of timeliness, order, and appropriateness of examination whichhas not heretofore been in- .dulged in.

One object of our invention is to :provide a method and apparatusthrough which greater accuracy in timing, full exactness in order andmaintenance of order, and every appropriate xamination can be made.

Another and outstanding object of the inven- ::'ion is to attain aprocess through-which comparisons .of consistency and color can besimultaneously made between the ordered samples.

According to the method of the invention, we periodically take samplesfrom the organ or passage, as the easel-may :be, separately preserve andidentify these samples, preferably in succession in the order taken,through relative ordering and identification upon a common support, andarrange them in such form that they may be commonly illumined to thesame degree whereby the consistency and color comparisons can beaccurately made.

The apparatus devised for this purpose comprises a vacuum conduit havinga break therein adapted to be closed by a removable and replaceablevacuum chamber, together with a relatively movable support for aplurality of sampling containers adapted to support the samplingcontainers successively in such juxtaposition to said break as toreceive and retain sample discharges from the break when discharges arepassed therethrough by vacuum-maintained force, together with mechanismfor relatively progressively moving the said support with respect tosaid section of the vacuum conduit to bring about and to destroysuchjuxtaposition of the sampling containers successively, the supportbeing such as to permit or effect uniform and adequate il- -luminationof the containers simultaneously.

In the accompanying drawing is shown one embodiment of our invention,that which is best known to us.

Referring to .the drawing:

Figure 11 .is' a vertical section of one form of the apparatus;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same with the apparatus cover and supportfor the vacuum conduit partly removed to show the interior arrangement.a v

In these several views like parts are provided \vithlike referencenumerals.

10 .is the vacuum conduit having therein a break adapted to be closed bya removable and replaceable vacuum chamber 1 I. This is in the 'form ofa trans-parent glass bell-jar. The break in the vacuum conduit therein.is designated 12. The vacuum conduit comprises two branches, the one 13leading to a suitable pump or other source of vacuum in thedirection ofthe arrow, and .the other H! leading or adapted to be led from thestomach or other organ of the body from which it is desired to extractsamples. These conduits are in the form of rubber tubes terminatedrespectively in glass tubes [5 and I6 which enter the vacuum chamber llthrough a rubber stopper [7. One of these glass tubes Hi and L5,-preferably the tube I 5, the terminus ;of the branch- 14, l is passedaxially of the stopper Hand of the vacuum chamber II, and thenturnedradially outwardly and downwardly to discharge into containers l9,arranged in an annular series about the axis of the container II and thetube l6.

Also, entering the chamber ll alongside of the tubes l5 and i6, is amanometer tube 35 for the indication of the degree of vacuum employed.

The passage of tube It through the stopper I1 is through a ferrule 20provided at its upper end with a stuffing box, and the tube I6 isprovided with a small hand-clamp 2| by means of which it may be rotatedin the ferrule 20. Furthermore, the top 22 of the vacuum chamber H isnot only removable and replaceable to permit placement and removal ofthe annular series of conta ners I9 therein, but also rotatable on thebody I I. Thus either through rotation of the tube 15 to bring itsdischarge end l8 into juxta- 55 position to one or another of thecontainers [9,

or through rotation of one or the other of the cover and the body 22, II(the one also to move the discharge end I8, and the other to relativelymove the containers I9)-relative progressive movement between thesupport for the containers I9 (constituted by the body II of thechamber) and the vacuum conduit I and the break therein I2, is achievedto the end of bringing about and destroying juxtaposition of thesampling containers successively to the discharge end I8 and the breakI2 in the vacuum conduit. Thereby the successively-taken sampledischarges may be received and retained by successive containers I9 ofthe annular series.

The joint 33 between the cover 22 and the body I I of the bell-jar, isgenerally of plain form to make an air-tight fit when the faces areground as usual. In order, however, to insure concentricity of relativerotational movement of cover 22, the ground faces may be provided withan over-hanging flange 34 or other form of axial alignment means.

The containers I9 are in the form of glass beakers or ordinary waterglasses. They are numbered in the order of succession in the series, forexample, I to B (the numbers I and 4 appear in Fig. 1). They are carriedwithin the chamber I I in the form of device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 upona unitary tray 23 provided with equiangularly spaced depressions 24 toreceive the bottoms of the containers I9 and retain them in position,with their axes approximately vertically below the arc of travel of thedischarge end I8 of the vacuum conduit, and a short distance sampleswhile yet within the clear-glass chamher I I. This lamp is introduced byscrew-threading or otherwise securing an appropriate lamp socket base 29within the reentrant walls. Through removal of the base the standardlamp bulb may be removed and replaced or renewed. The lamp cord 30 leadsto the base beneath the chamber II, which latter is provided with feet3| spacing it from the table or other foundation 32 upon which it may berested, to permit access of the cord 30 to the lamp. By reason of theaxial symmetry of the lamp, and the annular series of containers I9,there is provided through the transparent glass walls of the containersand the chamber I I, perfect uniformity of illumination of all of thesamples which may be taken.

The apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2 has the advantage of completeness andcontinuous sealed coverage of the samples during the period of theirtaking and examination.

While there has been described but one embodiment of the invention,obviously the invention is susceptible to yet other embodimentsirrespective of the circumstantial terminology of the appended claims.We intend to cover all embodiments and modifications thereof in whichthere are to be found those elements of the generic spirit of myinvention which characterize the several features thereof.

What we claim is:

1. Apparatus of the type described comprising a vacuum chamber formed ofseparable body and cap members, outlet and inlet conduits penetratingand supported by said cap member, said inlet conduit being centrally androtatably positioned in said cap member and having a radially extendingnozzle section adapted to supply -fluid to plural containersconcentrically arranged in said body member. a

2. Apparatus of the type described comprising a transparent vacuumchamber formed of separable body and cap members, outlet and inletconduits penetrating and supported by said cap member, said inletconduit being centrally and rotatably positioned in said cap member andhaving a radially extending nozzle section adapted to supply fluid toplural containers concentrically arranged in said body member, and saidbody member having a re-entrant base projection wherein a lamp may beremovably inserted.

3. Apparatus of the type described comprising a vacuum chamber formed ofseparable body and cap members, outlet and inlet conduits penetratingand supported by said cap member, said .inlet conduit being centrallyand'rotatably positioned in said cap member and having a radiallyextending nozzle section adapted to supply fluid to plural containersconcentrically arranged in said body member, and means for holding saidcontainers in predetermined position within. said chamber body member.

4. In a vacuum chamber having cap and body members, the cap memberhaving inlet andoutlet conduits and the body member a base withare-entrant central projection, a support for plural containerscomprising an annular plate with container receiving recessessequentially formed therein and a central bail attached to overliesaidbody base projection, said bail being extensible to a point above saidbody section.

JOHN o. BOWER. JOHN P. TARBOX.

